5 Ways to Shift the First Hour of Your Morning
5 Ways to Shift the First Hour of Your Morning
Get the Podcast Playbook, to accompany the podcast here. Filled with devotionals, checklists, questionnaires and more:
In this article you will learn:
How to identify your passions
Which “thing” make you unique and a powerhouse for God
How to use natural talents to build your God-sized dream
5 Ways to Shift the First Hour of Your Morning
My cat Benny was abandoned when he was three days old. Because he was too young to be cared for at the shelter, he was slated to be put down later that day. But, my friend, a counselor at the humane society, couldn’t do it. She smuggled him home and raised him for three weeks among humans, dogs, cats, birds, turtles and all of her other rescues. Because of Benny, I learned 5 valuable lessons for dreaming with God, so I can wake up every day saying, “Thank you Jesus for another day!”
My husband and I met Benny at my friend’s house, three weeks later. He was a handful, all over us, and anybody who would give him attention. He was flipping over things, jumping about an inch into the air and chasing anything that looked promising. He was so tiny, but he was SO sure of himself.
Fast-forward two weeks later and Benny was fully immersed in our house. He wanted to know what I was cooking. He wanted to know what I was putting on the top shelf. And why….whhhyyyy did I have to close the bathroom door when I was in there? (Can all my fellow cat lovers raise their hand!?).
One day, he was sitting on top of his perch of a five foot cat tower, when (*O gasp!) a gecko ran through my living room (Mainlanders just go with me on this – it’s a common occurrence in Hawaii). Without hesitation he leaped off the top of the tower, pounced, and was running to me to show me his prize, all within one second.
As a newbie cat person, I was mortified! I picked him up and walked him to my lanai (deck) and tried desperately to get him to drop the gecko from his mouth. But he wouldn’t do it. I stood there for a minute yelling at him to drop it while doing everything I could to loosen his tight little mouth.
But then something hit me.
**And it kinda changed my life. **
Knowing Who You Are
You see, for all intents and purposes Benny never had a “proper” cat up-bringing. He had only been with his mother three days. And yet, here he was, being extremely cat-like. It didn’t matter that I was yelling at him. It didn’t matter that I was extremely upset. For Benny, even without parents…HE KNEW WHO HE WAS.
Here’s the thing, dreamers…
We make it so difficult. Like it’s math or something. Like there is an algorithm we need to figure out. Or, we think, I didn’t have great parents, so I’m behind others in dreaming about my life. That’s why I don’t have a dream.
It’s not true. Simply, not true.
So here it is:
5 Ways to Discover Your Dream
Make it easier on yourself…
1. It’s a passion even though others don’t understand (or like it!). If you have a passion that others have a hard time following, chances are God wants you to use it to open others up to the idea. I had a friend who was eating healthy thirty years ago, and her family was ridiculed even by ministers. Of course today, she is in the majority and God has used her throughout the world.
2. As a kid, you did _____ in your play time. As a kid I was setting up lesson plans, doing school workbooks and teaching twelve kids in my neighborhood – complete with stickers, chalkboards and oodles of worksheets. Guess what I do now. Ha! What you did as a kid often has tremendous impact on what you want to do as an adult.
3. No matter how much you’ve tried to conform this “thing” just keeps bubbling up. Dreamers, especially shy dreamers, have this problem. They want to do what others think is best for them, but they can’t help it, this dream keeps bubbling up even though it is non-conforming. There is a season for serving others and their dream, but this bubbling dream will still be a nagging thought in the back of your mind.
4. As a child, your dream was a happy place. I’m speaking mostly to those of you who had poor childhoods. Your father was abusive, or not there. You were raised in foster homes. Whatever it is, your dream was what you did to try and find that place of happiness. For those of you with great childhoods, the same applies, you did this “thing” for fun.
5. Finally, it’s just natural. It’s natural for you to be compassionate to others. It’s natural for you to be concerned about orphans. It’s natural for you to start businesses. Now, I’m not saying it’s always easy, or that others understand it, but I AM saying that the dream God has for you, comes with the gifts and callings to carry it out. You are equipped to be the dream God wants you to be in the earth. So, rock it, my friends.
PS – Benny’s God-sized dream is visiting his grandparents so he can catch and release alligator lizards in their house. They love that (haha). But he is endowed by God to chase his dreams…and so are you!
Need a cheat sheet for discovering your dreams? On my website, you can get a playbook for step-by-step journaling into your God dream.
Now, you can wake up every day saying, “Thank you Jesus for another day!”